Chapter 2: The Sword of My Past Self
Kael landed hard.
His knees slammed against rough stone, and dust filled his lungs before he could even gasp. He coughed violently, blinking against the swirling haze around him. The scent of smoke and iron clung to the air—the unmistakable scent of war.
His surroundings came into focus slowly: a shattered battlefield under a crimson sky. Ruins smoldered in the distance, and bodies littered the ground like broken dolls. Shouts echoed faintly through the air—men screaming in rage and agony. Kael's heart pounded in his chest.
"This... This isn't a dream."
He looked down.
His hands were not his hands—they were larger, more calloused, and his arms bore strange black markings like living tattoos. He wore dark crimson armor, cracked and bloodied, but regal in design. And in his right hand...
A sword.
Long, jet-black, pulsing with faint light—as if it breathed.
Kael stared at it. He had never touched a sword in his life. But the moment he gripped it, a surge of muscle memory took over.
He twirled it instinctively. Balanced. Natural. As if he'd wielded it for decades.
Then the system's voice returned, echoing in his mind like thunder across a canyon.
[Simulation Initiated: Past Life #13 — The Fallen King of Ashenvale]
[Objective: Survive the next 15 minutes.]
[Bonus Objective: Recover the Soulflame Sword's true name.]
"Wait—Fifteen minutes? Survive what?!"
BOOM!
The ground shook violently. From the far side of the battlefield, a monstrous figure emerged—ten feet tall, wrapped in chains of fire and shadow, with glowing red eyes and a jagged axe dragging behind it.
Kael's breath caught in his throat.
The creature roared.
[Warning: Executioner of the Void detected. Danger Level: Critical.]
Kael didn't have time to think. The Executioner charged with inhuman speed, its feet cracking the earth beneath each step. Kael raised the sword—not because he knew how, but because something inside him, someone inside him, moved on instinct.
As the beast swung its axe, Kael dodged, barely escaping the force that split the stone beneath him. He countered with a slash.
And in that moment—he remembered.
Not everything. But a flash.
A throne made of obsidian.
Kneeling generals.
A sword raised high above a kneeling enemy.
And a voice.
His voice.
"Let Ashenvale burn, if it must. I will rise again."
The sword in his hand flared with dark fire.
[Fragment Memory Synced: +5 Sword Mastery]
[Hidden Skill Unlocked: Phantom Slash Lv.1]
Kael moved like lightning.
He vanished and reappeared behind the Executioner, his blade slashing cleanly through its arm. The beast howled, swinging wildly, but Kael ducked, rolled, and drove his blade into its gut.
The world trembled.
The simulation began to dissolve. The battlefield faded into ash and light, sucked into a void as the voice returned once more.
[Simulation Complete.]
[You survived. You have gained: +2 Strength | +3 Agility | +1 Clone Slot | Skill: Phantom Slash Lv.1]
Kael collapsed to one knee as everything went black.
---
He woke up in his bed again.
His chest rose and fell quickly, drenched in sweat, his muscles aching from the battle. And yet, something lingered—power. Clarity. Confidence. And...
He reached out his hand.
In a burst of black mist, the Soulflame Sword materialized, floating just above his palm.
His jaw dropped.
It wasn't a dream.
It never was.
And this... was just the beginning.
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"Thanks for reading! If you liked it, drop a comment or power stone/vote—Chapter 3 drops in 4 hour